40 Fortieth Annual Meeting 



of the sea ; and Sir John Murray, the patron saint of ocean- 

 ography, has promised to give this plan his heartiest sup- 

 port, and Dr. Townsend has also said that he is ready to 

 serve as honorary curator of that hall whenever it shall be 

 established. 



In closing permit me to renew a welcome for myself and 

 the trustees of this institution as well as for all its scientific 

 staff. ( Applause. ) 



President: If there were any doubts as to whether this 

 great city gives proper support to its better class of institu- 

 tions, I am sure they will be dispelled by the statements and 

 the very able address of the president of this institution. 



The Committee on Papers has presented as next in order 

 seven addresses or papers all of which are to be illustrated. 

 Preliminary to the first paper, I want to say just a word. 



Nearly thirty years ago, when I was in the employ of the 

 United States Fish Commission, as it was then known, I 

 accompanied one of the distributing cars that was carrying 

 a load of young whitefish from the Government hatchery 

 at Northville to Lake Michigan. After we had deposited 

 the fry in the lake I noticed a man outside rowing up and 

 down and back and forth some little distance out, with 

 something trailing from the stern of his boat. Shortly he 

 came ashore with the trailer, which proved to be a plankton 

 net. That was absolutely the pioneer scientific work in the 

 study of the crustacean life of the great lakes. That gen- 

 tleman from that day to this has continued his scientific 

 investigations and has produced a large number of very 

 able papers in connection with fisheries problems. I am 

 pleased to say that he is here today and is first on the list. 

 I have great pleasure in introducing to you Prof. S. A. 

 Forbes, director of the State Laboratory of Natural His- 

 tory, Urbana, 111., who will read a paper on "The Investiga- 

 tion of a River System in the Interest of its Fisheries." 



Professor Forbes' paper was then read and discussed. 



President : Some men in this world achieve fame, or at 

 least temporary notoriety, by making a big noise and claim- 



